


New Game+

by felpereBRanco



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Fix-It, Reincarnation, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26356975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felpereBRanco/pseuds/felpereBRanco
Summary: A new save rewrites the game!
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	New Game+

Those last few moments were almost a blur. She was on the ground, head gently cradled between bony plates.

“...Ryder?” She heard as a hand caressed her hair. _Vetra._

“I think she’s coming back.” She heard another voice in the background, Peebee maybe, cursing out obscenities.

“Tempest isn’t answering, And I can’t get these…” A loud bang resonated, Peebee hitting the doors with the butt of her rifle. Ryder hissed as it worsened her already horrible migraine.

“...Fucking doors to open!” Peebee finished. After a pause, she asked, a lot more calm, but still out of breath.

“Anyways, how is she?”

Another flood of information came to her, making her groan out in strained pain. She felt Vetra flinch in worry under her.

“Not good,” Vetra replied, sounding panicked and helpless. “I have no idea what’s going on or what I should do. And she keeps…”

“Hey” Peebee interrupted her, gently. “She’s going to be fine.”

Ryder gasped in relief as the information shut down. Her SAM implant was working completely erratic. It would start transmitting random floods of data directly into her brain, such as numbers of cryopods dismantled during the uprising or how many wheels in total are in the Hyperion, only to suddenly stop, granting her momentarily relief.

“Now. Ryder said Archon was going after the Nexus. Aaand we can’t have that. Mind looking for a way out?” Ryder kept her eyes closed as Vetra got up, caressing her head one last time. She might’ve dozed off for a moment, because Peebee and Vetra were suddenly in the middle of a conversation.

She groaned, feeling the flood of information come back to her when her breath got caught in her throat.

_“...Hyperion is under attack from unknown sources, all personnel…”_

_“...Shit! It’s the Kett! I repeat, it’s the Ke-”_

_“They’ve got Ryder! We need to fall back to…”_

“Scott!” Sara sat up suddenly as the flood cut off. Both of her teammates turned sharply toward her at the scream.

Ryder struggled to get up, going after the console. They had to leave. Now.

She felt that alien technology digging into her skull as she tried to integrate with it without S.A.M.

When the door finally opened, she was gasping for breath, nose covered in blood. Both her teammates were worriedly looking at her. Peebee was attempting to scan her, while Vetra stayed at her side, ready to catch her if she fell.

And fall she did. Vetra had to basically carry her out of there, though she felt slightly better by the time they got to the surface.

As her crew argued over what to do, she silently made Vetra carry her to a nearby console. At first she thought it was going to be just another door knob, but when she interacted with it she gasped, knowing it was something much more important.

The console dug deep into her mind, not only analyzing it but changing. And then she understood. She learned.

This was a command console. And she knew exactly how to control it. First, she changed her permissions from “Unknown” to “Administrator”, taking advantage of a loophole in the system and then accessed the offense systems, taking control of the Remnant armada that resided in the city.

Sara Ryder, Pathfinder and now Remnant Administrator, now had an army.

**∴**

From there things went even faster.

Her mind was connected to the Remnant in ways she couldn’t even fathom, even when she tiredly walked off the console. 

So while she gathered her crew and left to Meridian, the place Archon had taken her brother, she sent a part of her army to neutralize the Kett presence on the Nexus.

The Tempest, then, finally found the Meridian, which actually was a hollow planet. Everyone Sara ever met showed up, from the other Pathfinders to the Mosha’e and even Sloanne. All of them joining hands in a desperate fight for the fate of the galaxy.

Vetra drove the Nomad as Sara cried. Captain Dunn and the Hyperion were gone, and so was her mother. 

When they left the Nomad, she was livid. White hot rage burned through her veins to the point she could barely think. They didn’t even stop to fight the Kett, since either someone else would show up or Sara would activate the Remnant Defences. Everything was looking up, hope spreading amongst everyone. 

When she entered the heart of the Meridian, though, everything went to shit.

She was suddenly disconnected from the Remnant, forced to leave a concussed Peebee with a pack of medigel behind and on top of that, Vetra got a rocket to the face, though she insisted to keep going. Sara should have told her to turn back… Even Scott was being useful, she thought, instead of carelessly stumbling along the way like she was doing. When the Archon connected to the Meridian, she could somehow feel that his remnant’s weren’t normal Remnants. They were… corrupted, for a lack of words. 

She defeated the Architect, killed the Archeon by taking down his power sources and, when all was done, she was left breathless, alone. Sara looked around horrified. 

Scott was limp in the chair, blood coming out of his nose and ears. Vetra was laid down against the wall. Ryder didn’t remember her getting shot, but the pool of blood under the Turian was big.Too big

Sara, eyes misty in guilt, suddenly stopped, asking herself if it was worth it. She killed the Archeon, but in the process she also got everyone else killed.

Captain Dunn, her mom, thousands of lives at the Hyperion, Scott, maybe Peebee...Vetra.

She leaned on the console, feeling her chest being crushed. The console lit up, connecting her mind to the Meridian, the metal planet that creates life.

“Was it worth it?” She cried to herself. If only she could have… If only...

She might have been thinking too loud though, as the console lit up a second time, recognizing her unvoiced commands.

Sara Ryder had a second to process the order, understand what was going to happen as light glyphs cascaded around her body before she felt the strange feeling of wrongness, of being out of place. Out of time.

Then everything went **dark.**

**∴**

“Welcome back, Sara.”

The words roused her out of her dazed state as she attempted to sit up. Sara looked around, not understanding.

“Sam?” She asked, confused. “Where are we?” She kinda felt Sam’s surprise at the use of “we”, or at least what it could be surprising.

“On the S.A.M Node, Inside the Hyperon.” Sara didn’t know how to feel at those words.

“W...What?” She asked, and flinched soon after as _a Kett suddenly popped out of cover-_

“Hey! You’re awake!” Liam said, finished getting up. After seeing the guarded way she held herself, he asked “Are you okay?”

Sara nodded, not trusting her voice. Liam looked like he wanted to say something else, but kept silent as Cora and Lexi entered the door.

Sara was still mute as Lexi examined her.

“...I think she might still be in shock.” Lexi said, frowning. She crouched, getting eye to eye with Sara, who was sitting on the bed. She gently grabbed one hand and asked.

“Hey Sara,” She whispered “How are you feeling?” 

Sara snapped out of her memories at the sound of her voice. 

“Lexi?” She asked, focusing on her face. Lexi nodded, smiling placatingly. “ M’fine.” Sara mumbled.

“Great” Muttered Corra, resentful, “One Pathfinder dies and the other is a mess.” Both Lexi and Liam turned to glare at her, who frowned.

A mess. Sara almost laughed out loud at how true that was. She was… She time traveled. Right back to…

“Habitat-7?” Sara asked in a rough voice, cracking halfway through.

Cora and Liam shared a look, but lexi was the one to answer.

“The planet was not habitable. There was some kind of alien tower that was disrupting the climate.” Lexi stopped, not knowing what else to say. 

“We found some kind of hostile aliens, though they weren't native. Those fuckers killed Kirkwall.” Cora looked at him for a long moment before stopping closer. 

“Alec… Your father didn’t make it.” Sara looked down, feeling like she just got punched in the gut. She did the impossible so she could have a second chance at saving everyone and she fails. Noticing Sara’s mood, Cora added.

“It was either you, or him. He chose you.” Sara put her face between her hands. Cora, hesitant, continued, receiving a dark look from Lexi.

“We’ll be arriving at the Nexus soon… We need our Pathfinder.”

“She just woke up. She needs to rest.” Corra shrugged and turned to leave.

“Better be quick about it, then. You have 2 hours.” She said as the doors closed, though Sara wasn’t paying attention anymore. Liam awkwardly lingered for a moment before leaving. 

Lexi sighed, looking at the sobbing girl and sat down, embracing her gently. 

**∴**

Sara grieved for everyone she lost. 

She knew Lexi, who hadn’t left since she awoke, had no idea of what was going on in her head, but she still appreciated that the doctor took the time to comfort her. Sara took a big breath, feeling her sobs slowly recede. With a pathetic sigh, she raised her head from between her hands, a feeling of determination rising in her gut. 

Yeah, she didn’t save her dad, but everyone still needed her. She knew what was going to happen. She just had to get her head in the game.

“Sam?” She asked suddenly, startling Lexi. “How long until we get to the Nexus?”

“47 minutes, Pathfinder.” Sara nodded, turning to Lexi with a sad smile. 

“You don’t happen to know a way to hide these red eyes, do you?” Sara asked, referring to her cry. Lexi shrugged, giving her a half, somewhat sad, smirk.

“Use a helmet.” Sam let out a small laugh, feeling a little better.

“Thanks, Lexi. I… I really needed that.” Lexi nodded, leaving the room with a smile.

“Don’t strain yourself out there. And if anything happens, I’ll be on Medbay.” She said as she left. 

Now, to form a plan.

“Sam?”

“Yes, Pathfinder?”

“Call me Sara. You said you were in my head. Can you access my memories?” If Sam could watch and rewatch her future memories, then it would make her life much easier.

“Negative, Sara.”

_Damn…_

“I can only access moments from after our merging.” He answered in his monotone voice.

Sara sighed in frustration. Time for plan B then.

“If I give you an order, does anyone else have clearance to override it?”

“Only another human pathfinder and Elizabeth Reilly, Sara.” Elizabeth Re… Right, that’s mom. _She’s still alive. She’s...here, in the Hyperion._ “May I question the nature of these orders?”

“Later. When we’re alone and not in a rush.” Sara said quickly. She was a time traveller. She had knowledge that she couldn’t explain where it came from, and she watched enough Star Trek remakes as a kid to know what happens if people knew about that. 

...Which means she needed a scapegoat. An excuse on how she knew these.

“I have sensitive information that I can’t explain how I got it. If anyone asks, you’re the one who provided them. Even if it would be impossible to do so, understood?”

“Yes, Sara”

 _Good_ , she thought as she put her armor on, hesitating as she saw her father’s helmet. The colors wouldn’t match, and it was slightly bigger than what she wore but… She exhaled, putting it on. It’s time to face the music.

**∴**

Ryder, with her arms crossed, silently watched the Nexus through the window as everyone around the bridge gathered around in a heated discussion.

“It could be worse.” Liam said. Ryder could almost hear herself _whining_ on how “this better be rock bottom.” She didn’t though. Pathfinders don’t panic at the face of the unknown, and to do so would only make people underestimate her, think she isn’t ready for this burden.

And that was one of her biggest problems in… her… past life? Other Timeline? Whatever, back then. She spent countless hours being doubted or clotheslined when she should be acting instead. All the trivial missions Tann would assign her to “ease her up into the title.” All the unnecessary reports Addison would demand, perhaps in hopes of proving that Sara wasn’t cut out for the job. 

This time, though? She’s cutting corners. She’ll be the one two steps ahead of everyone. Archeon included.

“It’s our job to find out how much worse it could get.” She snapped, answering Liam’s reply. She turned to leave the bridge, calling out sharply: “Liam. Cora. Suit up, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.” Liam whistled while Cora frowned. Dunn watched Ryder leave before turning to Cora.

“Is it just me or she’s...Imitating Alec?” Dunn asked bluntly, though in a lighter tone. Cora shrugged, concerned.

“She’s under a lot of pressure right now.” She said simply, with a resigned sigh. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

**∴**

“Hey, Ryder,” Cora said as they headed to the train, “How are you feeling?” She asked with a touch of worry. Just a touch.

“Fine.” Sara answered shortly, distracted.

When they got to the Nexus the first time, Kandros welcomed them. Kesh immediately went to connect the Hyperion’s power to the Ark as Tann and Addison rained Hell on her.

Cora looked at Liam, worried. Sara was _not_ fine.

This time, Sara needs to be in control of the exchange. The archeon needs to be defeated, and they don’t have time to doubt her patent. 

“Sara,” Liam called out in a joking tone. “Think they finished the bar at least? Gotta have champagne for a welcome party!” Sara, her back turned to them, looking out to the window, didn’t answer. Liam gave a Look to Cora, who sighed.

“After what we've been through, I could use some Thessian Wine...” She added awkwardly. 

Addison doubted her _a lot,_ but it was mostly because she was pessimistic about any kind of Hope, capital H. Well, that and the fact that Sara was a meek and hesitant wallflower, far from what a Pathfinder should be. It’s possible that, if Sara showed how serious she was about this, Addison would back her up, which would put her against Tann.

Cora shrugged to Liam, worried. She had no idea how to handle this. 

On the other hand, Sara knew that much of her success came exactly because she was that hopeful and naive. Without that, people wouldn’t trust her. Respect? Definitely, especially after activating the vaults. Trust? Not so much.

“Damn it.” Sara muttered to herself, facing the window. Her father, the thought sent a sharp pain to her heart, was a great Pathfinder. People respected him, a lot. But he wasn’t good with people. He got the job done, yes, but doing it in a way that made people feel hopeful? He didn’t do hopeful. 

So Kandros is indifferent, she can get his support easily. Kesh is already in her favor. Addison will still doubt her… Maybe if she asks for some kind of leap of faith? Would it work?

Worth a shot. 

So that just leaves Tann, the slimy bastard. 

...Okay, he wasn’t that bad. Just… too cautious, and more than a little self-centered. Maybe if she…

…

No. 

Sara had absolutely no idea how to approach Tann. 

“Uh… I don't see any champagne” Liam muttered as they entered the Nexus’ Common Area. The place was deserted, just like before, with minimal lighting on the doors and corridors. The roof, that usually showed an impressive hologram of Earth’s blue sky, was completely black. With each step, Sara remembered vividly what happened last time, like she was walking on two worlds at the same time.

“Where is everybody?” Her memory asked, or perhaps she said that out loud now too, even though she knew the answer to those questions. She couldn’t be sure. 

“This can't be right,” Cora said, already exploring the place. “It's like everything's on standby.” Liam shrugged at that.

“If this is a surprise party, they're doing an awful job at it.” Cora smirked from the other side of the room, but didn’t say anything. 

Sara approached the VI, creating a new light source as it activated. Cora and Liam turned to see what happened.

“We could see what the VI has to say,” Nothing useful, if things went like last time. Still, there was one thing that she wanted to confirm…

“What year is this?” She asked. By the time she went after the Meridian, it was 2820. Just a year of difference but still-

“The year is currently 2819.” This can’t be happening. How… Why? Why her? “After spending 600 years in stasis, it's normal to feel disoriented or confused on arrival…” Sara snorted silently. She definitely felt disoriented, though not for that reason. The VI deactivated as she step away, 

“Well, she got the date right, at least.” Cora said. Her concerned exchange of glances with Liam went over Sara’s head. Literally.

“...and welcome to your new home in Andromeda, where our brightest star is you!” Sara walked on ahead as Liam started quizzing the VI on the Nexus’ status. Right ahead of her, hidden behind the stacks of construction crates was an engineer crouching as he welded a panel into the station. 

“Excuse me.” she called out, watching as he startled. When he got up, turning to her with a confused frown, she continued. “We’re from the Ark Hyperion. I need to talk to the person in charge.”

**∴**

“Everything that could go wrong with our plan has.” Kandros, the Turian leader of the Nexus militia explained as they crossed the station. “We arrived fourteen months ago, right away we hit a band of dark energy that knocked us of course.” He was giving the same speech from the last time, Sara noted silently. “We call it the Scourge” Things only changed slightly because of her reactions, or lack of them, but she couldn’t tell if it was just him adapting something that he already had in mind or if he was just following a script from someone else. The thought made Sara want to crackle madly.

She still wasn’t sure if this was all one crazy dream or not. She didn’t even have time to properly sit down and _process_ everything that happened to her since Meridian. She startled when a hand gently pressed her shoulder. Cora, eyes brimming with worry, gently pushed her forward. She moved forward again, focusing on Kandros as he continued his speech. 

“We lost whole sections of the station. A lot of people died. No power, no food, the chaos went on for months. It finally led to armed rebellion, when order was restored the insurgents were banished. Exiles, we call them.” Sloane. The name floated into her head. The ex-Head of Nexus security. She was likely still in Kadara Port, sitting in her metal throne ruling over the outlaws with an iron fist. Kandros description of what happened was brief and clean, betraying nothing of how horrible it had actually been.

“Are things back to normal?” Cora asked, naively. No, thought Sara, whoever was left from this civil war now has to struggle against the outlaws and the Krogan rebels for increasingly scarce resources while fending off Kett attacks. That’s not even touching the Remnant and the hostile environments of the habitats. She stayed silent.

“Not even close.” Kandros said bluntly. “But you’re here now, so maybe the worst is over.” The doors closed behind them as the Turian activated the train. With her mind full of vague plans for the future, Sara discreetly opened a basic note block app on her omnitool.

_|Sam, can you read this?|_

She wrote, knowing the AI was able to monitor her through her eyes. The response was immediate.

 _“Affirmative, Pathfinder.”_ The voice came from her comms, a secure line only she could hear. 

_|Remember what I said about sensitive information?|_

“No word from the other pathfinders?” Cora asked at her side, Kandros answering a second later. “No word from anyone, period.” Liam picked up the conversation, turning to Kandros with a frown. “Any threat from the locals?” Kandros didn’t even bother looking at him as he answered, busy messing with his own omni tool. “So far we stayed hidden. We’re in no shape to deal with an attack.”

_|The machine we activated on Habitat-7 was a terraforming device from an unknown race. Every Habitat has a device like this one in a vault underground protected by machines called the Remnant. If we activate these vaults, we can stabilize the atmosphere and set up colonies.|_

_“I understand.”_ SAM murmured in her ear. _“What am I to do with this information?”_

“We had a first contact situation on Habitat-7.” She said, turning to Kandros. “Whole thing went south. They attacked first.”

|You got this information by hacking the alien tech in Habitat-7. You told me afterwards. Keep that in mind.|

 _“I understand, Pathfinder.”_ SAM agreed as Kandros spoke to her. “That wasn’t first contact, we know about them. Those aliens are going to be a real problem.” She erased everything on her omnitool before turning it off. 

“This day just keeps getting better and better.” Cora muttered.

“We’re here.”

**∴**

Kandros led them to the command center as Liam slipped off to check on the security. She could see familiar faces all around her as engineers ran around connecting the Nexus to Hyperion’s hyperdrive. The lights overhead flickered and then turned on as Ryder closed her eyes, taking a calming breath. 

“The crew of the Hyperion.” The Salarian in control of the station commented as he approached. “I am Jarun Tann, Director of the Initiative. You have no idea how much your arrival means to us.”

“Likewise, Sir.” She replied in a tense tone, eyes narrowing. “But we don’t have time for pleasantries.” She could tell both the director and Addison were surprised by that. “My name is Sarah Ryder. I’m the current Pathfinder of the Hyperion.”

“What- What happened to Alec?” Addison asked, blindsided. Sarah closed her eyes, shook her head regretfully. 

“We ran into trouble on Habitat-7, he-” She felt her own voice get stuck in her throat. “He saved my life… I’m sorry.” Sarah added, seeing how shaken the Director of Colonial Affairs was. There was a moment of silence, Sarah gulped down her sorrow.

“Damn it.”Addison murmured before looking up. “Please, understand. The entire Initiative is at risk.”She explained, walking toward a screen and typing some commands. “None of the worlds panned out, they’re a bust. And there’s been no words from the other Arks.

“I know. Kandros already explained that.”She cut them off. “I can fix that problem, but if you want this initiation to succeed, I’ll need your full cooperation.”

“Well, of course, you have our-” Director Tann tried to say.

“Just like that?” Addison spoke over him, narrowing her eyes. Sarah nodded, staring her down.. 

“I’m a Pathfinder. It’s what I do.”

“We’ve been here for a year, _Pathfinder._ ” She spat out the word as an insult, frustrated. “That title isn’t just gonna magically fix everything. You’re not Alec.” Sarah twitched. 

“Alien tech will.” She shot back. “I know I’m not my father, Director, and I’m not demanding your respect just because I got a shiny new badge. What I’m _telling_ you though, is that the ruins we found on Habitat-7 is a terraforming equipment that we can use to forge our own home.” Addison looked stunned, but so did Cora and director Tann. “I know I’m young. I’m not experienced. I’m not the person you wanted. But I’m here, now, and if you want me to get anything done you need to lay off and let me do my job. Now, do I have your cooperation?”At her quiet nod, Sarah bulldozed through the tense mood. 

“Good. SAM tells me that there were reports of similar constructions on Eos. If the alien tech still works, we can repurpose the abandoned camps to produce fresh supplies.”She looked up at Director Tann. “ I need a ship for that.” a pause. “And I get to pick the crew.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a oneshot. I've been writing this paragraph per paragraph for the past year whenever the mood struck me. I love this story, and the game in general, but it has been a while since I've been interested in both, so I thought it would be best to just post this as it is. I hope you enjoy!


End file.
